EMIS revenue hits £160m; NHS problems ‘managed’

Shares of Leeds-based healthcare software and IT firm EMIS Group rose about 11% after it said its 2017 revenue edged 1% higher to £160.4 million but adjusted operating profit slipped 3% to £37.4 million.

EMIS said legacy problems with NHS Digital are “being proactively managed” with an £11.2 million provision being made “to cover potential financial settlement and costs to remedy past issues.”

EMIS Group CEO Andy Thorburn said the discovery in early 2018 “of a failure to meet certain service levels and reporting obligations with our customer NHS Digital (NHSD), has had a significant negative impact on our 2017 results …

“We have been undertaking a review of service level agreements (SLAs) with all of our customers across the group and to date have found no other material issues.

“As a result, we believe the NHSD related breach to be a serious, but isolated incident.”

Total dividend for the year will rise 10% to 25.8p.

Thorburn added: “We continue to lead the way in joined-up healthcare IT, with market-leading positions, high levels of recurring revenue and a strong financial position.

“Whilst we are proud of what we have already achieved in delivering connected healthcare, we are continuing to build on this with operational enhancements and key projects that will give us a stable platform for future growth.

“I believe that the robust management of legacy matters is essential, to both enhance our culture and improve performance going forward.

“This means being more performance-led, with greater accountability, improved operational execution and an increased focus on our customers, users, partners, patients and their needs.

“To support this, I have engaged closely with senior NHS figures, and have committed the group to further strengthen its alignment with the strategic priorities of its key customers and users over the period ahead, placing EMIS Group firmly at the heart of the connected IT future of the NHS.

“While our focus currently is on dealing with a number of key projects set out in today’s announcement, we are also working on our detailed plans for growth.

“I look forward to sharing more details of this with the market and our shareholders later in the year, as the group continues to invest and adapt to the new models of care that are emerging digitally across our markets.”